Leading Americans Ask Military to Refuse to Attack Iran and Start a Global Catastrophe

Global Research, October 5, 2007

AfterDowningStreet.org - 2006-10-02

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Country music legend Willie Nelson, literary icon Gore Vidal, Gold Star Mother Cindy Sheehan, Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, retired U.S. Army Colonel Ann Wright, former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, former federal prosecutor Elizabeth de la Vega, author and radio host Thom Hartmann, Rabbi Michael Lerner, Rabbi Steven Jacobs, and dozens of other prominent Americans have signed a letter asking the Joint Chiefs of Staff and all U.S. military personnel to refuse orders to launch an aggressive war on Iran. The letter has been posted as a petition for others to sign at http://www.dontattackiran.org The text of the letter follows: ATTENTION: Joint Chiefs of Staff and all U.S. Military Personnel: Do not attack Iran. Any preemptive U.S. attack on Iran would be illegal. Any preemptive U.S. attack on Iran would be criminal. We, the citizens of the United States, respectfully urge you, courageous men and women of our military, to refuse any order to preemptively attack Iran, a nation that represents no serious or immediate threat to the United States. To attack Iran, a sovereign nation of 70-million people, would be a crime of the highest magnitude. Legal basis for our Request – Do not attack Iran: The Nuremberg Principles, which are part of US law, provide that all military personnel have the obligation not to obey illegal orders. The Army Field Manual 27-10, sec. 609 and UCMJ, art. 92, incorporate this principle. Article 92 says: "A general order or regulation is lawful unless it is contrary to the Constitution, the law of the United States …" Keep reading . . .